| Seniors Group |
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| History |
As part of the Jubilee celebrations, a group of senior non-dancers [and a few still active dancers] attended an afternoon tea dance. They decided that they enjoyed the social aspects of this dance so very much, that they wished to meet on a more regular basis, in a suitable venue. The first meeting was held at the Ewington Hotel [Queens Park] in 1999, organised by Ruth Beattie, ably assisted by Dorothy Paterson and Joyce Turkington. This event developed to about three meetings per year, plus a Summer outing and a Christmas lunch. The general format for the ordinary meetings is to have a light lunch, followed by a speaker. There is a small charge to cover the costs. |
| If you are interested in joining the group for a get-together, please contact Mrs Ruth Beattie on 0141 956 1522 or Sandy or Katherine Morrison on
0141 950 6235.
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| David Ross |
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Accordionist's Eye View |
David Ross |
On Wednesday, 28 April, 2009; the Seniors Group were entertained by accordionist and band leader David Ross. David began with a selection of popular Scottish tunes which got everyone singing along [that's why we are pulling strange faces in the photographs above]. David played some very tricky tunes which showed his tremendous versatility. When he asked for requests, David was inundated and he responded gladly. As we had, unusually, a dance floor David was asked to play for some well known country dances and we had one set dancing on the floor. A superb buffet, organised by Katherine and Sandy Morrison brought an extremely enjoyable afternoon to an end.
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| Tenth Anniversary Lunch |
The 10th Anniversary of the Seniors Group was celebrated on Thursday October 29th, appropriately at the Ewington Hotel. After a pleasant lunch, an anniversary cake was cut by Rita Knox, longserving stalwart of the branch and Seniors Group. A bouquet of flowers was presented to Ruth Beattie by Katherine Morrison. The entertainment was provided by the Westertones and their feisty pianist Catherine Scott (she did have 7 men to control). |
The Westertones presented an excellent program beginning with Stout Hearted Men and Can't You Hear the People Sing. Their varied performance included a couple of soloists and a dance Medley, Dashing White Sergeant, Glasgow Highlanders and Mairi's Wedding. Dougall McFarlane provided informative and often amusing introductions to each piece of music. |
| Celebrations contiue with a Christmas lunch and an outing to Troon in January. |
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Ruth Beattie [who has organised the group since its foundation], Helen & Graham Murray [who have assisted in the running of the group for many years], Rita Knox [longserving stalwart of the branch and Seniors Group, who cut the cake] and Katherine and Sandy Morrison who currently help Ruth to run the group. |
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The Westertones |
Photos - Dick Daniel |
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| Scottish Love Songs - Bob Blair |
Bob Blair, a life member of the Society with many years experience of teaching dancing, entertained the Seniors group on Wednesday April, 22nd, 2009. Bob is a singer especially noted for his interpretation of Scottish lyrical songs and traditional ballads. He has lectured widely at Universities, Colleges and workshops at numerous festivals throughout the world, and a member of Stramash, a group of singers who care intensely about Scotland's traditional song heritage. |
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There's some say that kissin's a sin;
But I think it's nane at a',
For kissin' has wonn'd in this world
Since ever there has been twa,
For, if it wisnae lawful, lawyers wouldnae allow it;
And if it wisnae holy, ministers wouldnae dae it;
And if it wasnae modest, maidens wouldnae tak' it;
And if it wasnae plenty, puir folk wouldnae get it |
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Bob opened with the poignant lines of the song above. Occasionally accompanying his fine voice with concertina and guitar, his program included songs of romantic love, unrequited love and "broken token". Bob sang hilariously funny parodies of traditional love songs, a song in one of his favouite dance rhythms, "the strathspey" and also gave us the opportunity to join in a great chorus song. Speaking enthusiastically about each of his songs, Bob gave us historical backgrounds and stories from his own experiences. This was an afternoon to remember and I've been playing Bob's CD ever since. |
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Chairman Margaret Weir organisers Katherine Morrison and Ruth Beattie with Bob Blair [Photos by Dick Daniel] |
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Some of the members at the lunch before Bob's performance |
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| More Tales and Music - John Renton |
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Thursday, October 23, 2008 allowed us to see John Renton in a different light. He gave a fascinating talk on the History of Scottish fiddle music and Scottish Country Dancing. Members of the Advanced class had often enjoyed the wealth of information John could supply whenever he was asked about the music for a particular dance. |
Very little information is in fact recorded. John told us how the first manuscripts available were for Lute Music before violins were made in Scotland and led us right up to the present day. He mentioned the influence of English country dancing, step dancing, the different types of tunes that were popular [originally Scots measure & minuets but later influenced by Irish, Shetland, Europe etc]. The old "Dancies" were often fiddlers who would write tunes in their own special notations and were well respected and often wealthy individuals with royal patrons. |
John spoke of the valuable contribution of Playford, Gow, Scott Skinner, William Marshall, Kerr and the RSCDS in preserving Scottish music and had amusing stories about many of the influential names, and he spoke of the developement of jigs and strathspeys. |
We couldn't let John go until he played us some of the wonderful music on his accordion. Our sincere thanks to John for an incredibly informative and entertaining talk. |
| Alasdair MacFadyen Remembers Glasgow Branch |
Dr Alastair MacFadyen who is Honorary Vice President of Glasgow Branch and took over as President of The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society at the AGM in November, 2007 addressed the Seniors Group on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. He is a life member of the Society and has been active in Glasgow for over 40 years. We were entertained with Alastair's memoirs from his first arrival at Jordanhill college, his early kitchen duties when he first joined the committee, and the fun he had enjoyed at every stage of his dancing career. He modestly glossed over his own achievements as he has risen through the ranks of the Society to the highest office, concentrating on amusing stories of Glasgow Branch and the wonderful people he had worked with over the years. He had lots of memorabilia with him, including the first newsletters Glasgow published. No one was in a hurry to leave as everyone was keen to study his old photographs and identify the people in them. |
| An Afternoon of Gaelic Music |
On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24, 2007 the guest speaker was Branch Member, Johan MacLean who spoke about Gaelic Music to an appreciative audience, including several accomplished musicians. Johan chose examples from the huge varity of music to illustrate the different categories of songs, singing a verse and chorus from each piece. She included "Orain Luaidh" - communal work songs, often sung for waulking tweed; milking and walking songs which have very prominant rhythms, adding amusing anecdotes about the practices and gossiping of the workers. Johan gave us titbits of "Orain Mor” or big ballads, and songs of the sea, laments and leaving songs where the words are so poingant and beautiful. Johan read verses in her lyrical accent and translated passages to make her points. The work of the hugely successful Popular Modern group Runrig was praised as they write and perform in the traditional manner. The presentation ended with what we were all waiting for, a lively performance of "Puirt a Beul" - songs for dancing to, known in English as Mouth Music. |
| Our grateful thanks to Johan for an excellent afternoons entertainment particularly as she was struggling to fight off a lingering cold. |
| Outing to St Andrews |
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A group of 11 visited St. Andrews Summer School on Thursday, June 9, 2007. They were warmly met by Course Director John Wilkinson at New Hall where they enjoyed a spectacular buffet lunch. After lunch they were taken to St Salvators Hall where most of the activities were taking place. Muriel Bone, a branch member and teacher on the course took them on a tour round the building and the visitors were invited to attend a "Walk Through" class for the people attending the dance in the Younger Hall that night. There was plenty time for a leisurely walk through the busy town or along the beach on this lovely summer's day. |
| John Renton |
On Wednesday, April 25, 2007 John Renton the leader of the John Renton Scottish Country Dance Band entertained the Seniors Group with his superb skills on the Accordion. He began with our Scottish Strathspeys. John played Scottish Jigs and Reels and Irish Jigs and Reels and talked about the differences between them. We were treated to Waltzes, Hornpipes and Polkas and 2/4, 4/4 and 6/8 Marches. John has a his huge collection of tunes and talked very knowledgeably about the music, giving us a great insight into the legendary Scottish Composers and how their work had developed. Modesty prevented John from playing any of the large number of tunes that he has written himself and this gives us a good reason to invite him again soon. |
| Country Dancing and The World Wide Web |
On Thursday, October 19, 2006 Patrick Murray gave a talk to the Seniors Group on Country Dancing and The World Wide Web. He began with a quiz inviting the audience to identify people in photographs taken 30 years ago. This was extremely well received as some of the people featured were in the Audience. He gave a very professional presentation on the Primary Schools Festival in March and then went on to show what information is available on the Web for Country Dancing, including animated diagrams and short video clips of dances being performed. |
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Next Event - Summer Outing |
Venue |
Lunch and Cruise Loch Katrine |
Date |
4 August 2010 |
Contact |
Ruth Beattie |
0141 956 1522 |
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Contact |
Mrs Katherine Morrison |
0141 950 6235 |
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